


What Is Seen and What Is- Eric Sees

by TWDObsessive



Series: What Is Seen and What Is. [5]
Category: The Walking Dead & Related Fandoms, The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Awkward Conversations, Cher in the apocalypse, Double Date, Eric POV, Falling In Love, Forehead Kisses, Friends to Lovers, M/M, POV First Person, Rickyl, Sex conversation, Touching, mismatched China
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 13:20:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5541503
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TWDObsessive/pseuds/TWDObsessive
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The last installment of the <em>What Is Seen and What Is </em>series- Eric's POV of their double date.</p>
            </blockquote>





	What Is Seen and What Is- Eric Sees

**Author's Note:**

> Totally unbeta'd and rushed because of the holidays, but wanted to get this finished up for everyone.

There are a lot of bad things about the apocalypse. No more wineries. No more Glee. No more Cher. Let me tell you, that woman is a goddess, but I'd be willing to bet she was one of the first to go when the outbreak started. Can't get away from walkers with heels and tight dresses. Bet she looked fabulous on her way out, though.

No more date nights. The last time Aaron and I had romantic date time was in a cabin together observing the Grimes group during our last recruiting mission. Aaron tries though. He tries to keep romance alive for us and I love him for it. I know I'm lucky. Luckier than nearly everyone else left alive because my lover is still here and he is my everything. I see the dead walking. See desperation make people do stupid things, awful things. Been out on recruits several times before I hurt my ankle on this last one. So I don’t take having Aaron for granted. I know what the world is really like. 

Aaron can be kinda macho and over protective. He laid down the law about me going back out even after my ankle was better. Says it makes more sense to have one who's the representative of Alexandria and one who's just the tough no-nonsense warrior. So I'm out and Daryl is in. I get it and I don't take offense to it. I'm not as strong as Aaron. Not as strong as a lot of them. But I was always willing. Always wanted to do my part. Mostly, I just didn't want Aaron out there alone without me. But I trusted Daryl to have his back.

And I was right to. I heard about that move in the car. Daryl risking his own life for a man that wasn't even his. That he really barely knew. But he didn't want me to suffer the loss. And he didn't think enough of himself to realize that his death would be a loss every bit as bad as Aaron's. That it would affect just as many people. It was from that incident that I learned there was more to Daryl than just a cute, naive redneck. He was a hopeless romantic. Even if he didn't know it yet. His offer to risk his own life to spare Aaron's came from something more that just befriending Aaron or me. It was because he liked what we were to each other. He cherished love more than he cherished his own life and damn it to hell if I'd sit by and watch someone so capable of love not get to have what I have. Especially when he's pining over a guy who is clearly pining right back.

Aaron knows once I’m determined about something, I WILL see it through. So he got on board right away with operation “Get that redneck his man”. And Aaron pulled it off. It worked. He talked to Rick and Rick saw. He understood. And to see the hunter so blissful this morning was like Christmas came early. And the cute little thing wanted us to know! Could tell he wanted to make it more real by letting others in on it. 

But back to the apocalypse... It's really hard to find a good Alfredo sauce. Supplies are limited. There will never be another Prego or Ragu factory. At least not in my lifetime. I wanted to make Alfredo, but alas. It wasn't in the cards. You work with what you got and a basil pesto would have to do. Had some fresh fish caught by yours truly, thank you very much. I may not look it, but I’m not completely helpless. Good at fishing actually even though Aaron may come across as way more outdoorsy than me. But I can outfish him any day. It’s all about using the right kind of bait. Tugging the line just the right way. Patience. Aaron is too eager. Always tugs too soon and the fish steal his bait. 

The fish and the sauce were almost ready. I had some pasta boiling and some canned corn. I’d have rather served fresh butternut squash, but I know to be grateful for what we have. I just want to make this a special night for Daryl and Rick. Aaron slipped arms around my waist. “Smells great, baby.”

“I did what I could with what we had,” I said with a an overdramatic sigh and a shrug of my shoulders. “Can you open the wine to let it breathe and set the table?"

He went quickly to work because he knows me and I wanted everything to be just right. The new couple were due in ten minutes. I had been running behind schedule because I swore I had some alfredo stored somewhere and I wasted way too much time looking. 

When I came out of the kitchen and saw the dining room table I gasped. “What’s that?” I pointed at a plate that clearly didn’t match the other three. It was ivory instead of cream and the lip around the edge was slightly wider. 

“It’s all we have. We never served for four since we lived here. I’m sure it will be fine.”

I went to all the cupboards, opening and closing, hoping to find plates I hadn’t seen in the past year of living here. “Baby,” Aaron coo’d. “They aren’t gonna love each other any less because our dishes don’t match.”

"I just want it to be perfect," I emphasized.

"You'll be here with me. Rick will be here with Daryl. That _is_ perfect."

And he was right. I kissed him gently and enjoyed the warmth of his tight, reassuring hug. And the doorbell rang at 6 sharp.

He smiled at me. "Well, go ahead and answer it. You're dying to," he said as he swatted at my ass.

When I opened the door I couldn't have even imagined a more adorable sight. Daryl and Rick stood close like always, Rick tucking a few strands of Daryl's hair behind an ear. Such a simple act that spoke of such intimacy. 

Daryl instantly looked down bashfully.

"Come in, come in!" I said excitedly and Rick placed a gentle hand on the small of Daryl's back to encourage him to go first.

They both looked purposefully handsome. Dressed up as best they could be considering the apocalypse and limited wardrobes. Rick wore jeans and a blue and yellow plaid button up shirt. Daryl had on hole-less jeans. I didn't even know he had hole-less jeans. And he were a clean beige button up that I know I'd seen Rick wear before.

I hugged them both and Aaron showed them in, pouring glasses of wine for everyone as I finished in the kitchen.

Aaron was making small talk about the crops the community had planted on the other side of town. Hopefully it was interesting enough to keep their eyes off the mismatched China. Rick seemed to be very engaged and I heard him out there talking about a garden they once had at their prison.

Once the food was served I raised my glass and the others followed. "To love in the apocalypse. And to Daryl and Rick."

Daryl and Rick grinned at each other and we all drank to the toast. I could tell they were playing footsies under the table and when Rick stood slightly to reach for the pepper, I saw him scoot his chair even closer to his new lover.

We talked of lighthearted things. The luxuries of beds and sleeping in and clean clothes, spices for the food and running water. Even after all these weeks Rick and Daryl didn't take things for granted.

Rick rubbed a hand on Daryl's thigh once all the plates were empty and Daryl put his hand on top of Rick's. It was all so damned adorable. Reminded me of Aaron and I when we first met. So full of nerves but also constantly in anticipation for more of each other.

After we were mostly through a second bottle of red, our little archer got chatty. And much more open physically with Rick. 

We'd moved to the living room and Daryl sat squirreled right up against Rick, the leader putting an arm around him like it was all second nature.

Daryl rubbed at Rick's thigh again and I could tell he had something on his mind. Maybe he wanted to talk about these new emotions. Maybe thank us for showing them both what they'd been blind to for so long.

He bit nervously on a hangnail. "Ummmmm... We were wondering if you guys had any extra lube," the hunter said in that so-quiet mumble of his.

"Oh god! Of course! Oh, Aaron," I said exasperated, "We should have sent Rick home with some last night!" I shot out of my chair and headed to the bedroom, yelling over my shoulder. "Don't do anything adorable while I'm gone."

How could we be so stupid, I thought. Throwing two new gays together to declare their love without lube!

I came back and tucked a bottle into the pocket of Rick's shirt.

Aaron was still apologizing.

"It's alright," Rick was saying. "We made it work."

"Spit," Daryl said, in a surprising bit of TMI.

"Oh Daryl, you'll feel so much better with the lube. It makes a world of difference. You still sore?" I asked.

Daryl grinned and looked up at me through shaggy bangs that desperately needed a little trim. "I'm fine man. Check on Rick."

I dropped my hand in my head instantly aware of the irony. I ALWAYS hated when people made those kinds of assumptions about us. 

"I didn't mean to assume, sugar. I'm totally ashamed of myself," I said as I sat back by Aaron. He rubbed at my back supportively. "Well, you'll be glad to have that when you're on the bottom."

Daryl knit his brows. "I'm not 'sposed to be the one doin' the top all the time?"

Aaron and I couldn't help but giggle. "You can do it anyway way you want. There are no rules on how to love each other," Aaron answered and I pecked him on the cheek. He was always so sweet and well-spoken and nothing ever rattled him. 

"Well.... which one of you like...does... How do you guys do it?" Daryl asked, sincerely interested in understanding things better. They were so new to this. So adorably innocent. 

Aaron laughed and sat back on the couch motioning for me to field this one.

Rick murmured to Daryl as he brushed some strands of hair back behind his lover's ear again, "You get inquisitive when you're tipsy. It's adorable." Rick kissed Daryl's forehead so sweetly and gently that my own heart skipped a beat, then they both turned to me, expecting an answer.

"Well, we switch. I top more often than not probably if we were keeping tally, but we just do whatever we organically stumble into when we start fooling around." Both of them were listening intently like they were eager freshman in a college lecture hall. "Or you can just use mouths or hands or grinding. There's all kinds of ways to be together. You have lots of experimenting and exploring ahead of you."

Daryl's jaw was literally dropped open and Rick’s pupils blew wide. It was clear they’d been so overwhelmed with feelings and emotions and love, that the physical aspects of consummating this new relationship, while exciting and clearly enjoyable, had taken a back seat. 

“Thanks for dinner,”Rick said as he stood too quickly, nearly tripping over the coffee table. 

“We gotta go,” Daryl said as he stood. “We have stuff…”

“Thangs… We have stuff and thangs to take care of back at the house,” Rick’s said, as a hand slid past his shirt pocket to confirm that the lube hadn’t somehow disappeared.

Aaron stood, me rising right along with him. “We understand,” Aaron said with a knowing grin.

As they left, Aaron and I looked out the window like the nosy neighbors we were. They walked hand-in-hand down the street and stopped before they were out of view to kiss gently right out in the open. They had each other. They loved each other. And they didn't care who saw it.

**Author's Note:**

> The End! Hope you enjoyed this experiment in first person POVs!


End file.
